Hello all! I'm desperate for some serious help. I'm feeling pretty lost and hopeless right now. Here's some background: I'm a sophomore in college and my dream has always been nursing. My home life is and never has been easy; if I could go back I would have moved out and gotten a dorm. With that said, freshmen year first semester I took::
A&P 1- failed due to being kicked out for 3 months with no car/no other family/no rides to school. tried to make it work but couldn't.
Psychology- teacher worked with me and was able to get a 4.0
English 1- 4.0 (teachers also worked with me)
LPN class- 0.5 missed final exam
Sophomore year:moved back im with family things were looking up
sociology-3.0
english 2- 3.5
micro-1.5
A&P 1- 2.5
STATS- 1.5
humanities-2.5
took A&P again and failed because I couldn't attend anymore
retook LPN-2.0
LONG STORY SHORT- I now have my own car and I'm moving out. Being home isn't an environment I can be successful in. I have always DREAMED of becoming a nurse and I know I can ace my pre-rec classes and be top in nursing school if given the chance. My past sucks and no one wants a complainer so what I'm asking here is for advice!! What are my options? Are my chances ruined?
1. Could I move schools and transfer only the passed and good grades and re-start the classes I failed? Is that a thing?
2. I talked to head of nursing and my small community college in the middle of no where only offered one retake and she told me it would basically be impossible to get in even if I retook it and got a 4.0
3. Has anyone ever been in a predicament sort of like this? All I've ever wanted was to be a nurse and i know I can do it.
Please give any advice/opinions you may have. I don't really have anyone to run to and I need some guidance! Counseling offered at my college is awful and not helpful.
There are some schools that offer "Academic Fresh Start," you can google to find some of them. It wipes out your old GPA but you are re-starting at square one; none of your old credits will be counted. However, typically this is only allowed if you have had an extended break (talking years, not months typically). The other drawback is your hours you took originally will count towards financial aid; so you will run out of undergrad loans before you graduate. Texas public colleges offer this option (for state residents) and other schools do here and there, but it is up to the individual college. Looking at your grades, I imagine your overall GPA is pretty low. If you are really serious about nursing and you have run out of other options then I would get a good solid job (possibly in another healthcare field) save money, and establish a good solid work history.
The first time I went to college, I totally screwed around and ended up joining the Army in my junior year with a 2.0 (on the nose). While in, I took many classes (talking over 100 semester hours) and had a 4.0 on all subsequent work When I got out; I started knocking out pre-requisites and am starting nursing school next week. BTW, I did not use academic fresh start. I was able to get in because I finished my Bachelors in another field and now have a 3.3 GPA. However, my pre-requisite GPA was 4.0. So it is possible; you may just find that it is a long term goal. The other nice thing is that I am using the GI Bill to pay for school; a really sweet deal.
So, maybe going into the military would be a good option for you You wouldn't have to join active duty, you could join the reserves and even get into a healthcare field. You would be able to use tuition assistance to take classes while you were in. National Guard has even more educational benefits because they qualify for state educational benefits. Just an option to ponder.
I would recommend that you get your act together before you take any more classes. The more classes you take and are just sliding by, the harder it will be to raise your GPA. Believe me, with the number of hours I had it took many many credits to raise my GPA up to a 3.3. You need to be making all A's or you are really going to dig a hole for your self, in regards to your GPA.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Is LPN easier to get into?
The LPN program I completed was 12 months long. The only admission requirements were a high school diploma/GED, a passing score on an entrance exam, and an interview with the director of nursing education. I started nursing fundamentals coursework less than two months after initially submitting my application.
I should mention this was a private nonprofit trade school. LPN programs at community colleges and public technical schools tend to require prerequisite coursework and additional hoops through which the applicant must jump.
I failed out of my first nursing program because I didn't want to be a nurse, but I did pretty well in my pre reqs. Like others have said, some schools have limits as to how many times you can re-take classes, both in and before the program so watch that. I've been away from it for a long time so I don't remember all the details, but the thing I remember that HASN'T changed is how they grade things in nursing school. Get your act together in the pre-reqs because the grading is way tougher in the program and they only accept certain GPAs to get into a program.
In the two nursing schools I went to, an A- didn't start until 92% (and one was 93%) so that's tough to get used to and the quicker you do, the better. Of course, "passing" is good, but don't start just barely sliding by in the pre-nursing courses because you have to have your work ethic game on point (or be some sort of genius lol).
Also, like others have said, if you have the living situation and car sorted, as well as how to pay for school, so you're only stressing about school, that will help you a lot, mentally.
cyclone67
150 Posts
There are some schools that offer "Academic Fresh Start," you can google to find some of them. It wipes out your old GPA but you are re-starting at square one; none of your old credits will be counted. However, typically this is only allowed if you have had an extended break (talking years, not months typically). The other drawback is your hours you took originally will count towards financial aid; so you will run out of undergrad loans before you graduate. Texas public colleges offer this option (for state residents) and other schools do here and there, but it is up to the individual college. Looking at your grades, I imagine your overall GPA is pretty low. If you are really serious about nursing and you have run out of other options then I would get a good solid job (possibly in another healthcare field) save money, and establish a good solid work history.
The first time I went to college, I totally screwed around and ended up joining the Army in my junior year with a 2.0 (on the nose). While in, I took many classes (talking over 100 semester hours) and had a 4.0 on all subsequent work When I got out; I started knocking out pre-requisites and am starting nursing school next week. BTW, I did not use academic fresh start. I was able to get in because I finished my Bachelors in another field and now have a 3.3 GPA. However, my pre-requisite GPA was 4.0. So it is possible; you may just find that it is a long term goal. The other nice thing is that I am using the GI Bill to pay for school; a really sweet deal.
So, maybe going into the military would be a good option for you You wouldn't have to join active duty, you could join the reserves and even get into a healthcare field. You would be able to use tuition assistance to take classes while you were in. National Guard has even more educational benefits because they qualify for state educational benefits. Just an option to ponder.
I would recommend that you get your act together before you take any more classes. The more classes you take and are just sliding by, the harder it will be to raise your GPA. Believe me, with the number of hours I had it took many many credits to raise my GPA up to a 3.3. You need to be making all A's or you are really going to dig a hole for your self, in regards to your GPA.
Good luck.